Governing mechanism



Aug- 4, 1925., 11,548,666

5.01mcmmsow GOVERNING MECHANI SM Filed Sept. 50, 1921 Inventor: Ed ar-DDicKinson l4 i5 1 M l-lis Attorney Patented Aug. 4, 1925.

messes UMTED srnrss rarestcaries.

EDGAR DJDICKI'NSON, (IF SCHENECTADY, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOB 3P0 GENERAL ELEG- TRIO COMPANY, A. CORPORATION OI NEW YORK.

GOVERNING rancnnmsaa. Application me'a September so, 1921. Serial no. coarse.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDGAR D. DICKINSON a citizen ofthe United States, residing at Schenectady, in the county of Schenectady, State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Governing Mechanism, of which ,the following is a specificatio y The present invention relates to governing mechanisms for prime movers, such as steam turbines, for example, and articularly to overning mechanisms of t e type employe to automatically shut off the sup ply of elastic fluid to prime movers in case of excess speed, such mechanisms being ordinarily termed emergency governors.

It relates especially to emergency gov-- ernors of the type comprising a mass supported on a rotating shaft with its center of gravity outside the axis of rotation of the shaft, the mass being restrained from movement by a suitable spring. At normal speed the mass remains stationary but in case of excess speed it is caused to move outwards ortransversely to the shaft by centrifugal force and en age with a tripping mechanism -valve, thereby shutting off the. motive fluid to, the prime mover.

which upon eing moved effects the closing of a valve mechanism, such as an emer ency supp y of Such governors operate in case of excess s eed, being set for a speed a suitable or esired amount above normal, for example, per cent above. normal. It is desirable, however, to be able to test them without requiring the overspeeding of the prime mover and the object of my invention is to provide cans in connection witha governor of 's general t pe whereby. this result maybe accomplished in a simple and expeditious manner. 1'

In carrying out m invention I- provide in connection with t e centrifugally operated mass, 2. means whereby its radius of ration. may be increased in length to efect movement of the mass at a speed lower I than normal to trip the emer ency valve mechanism. This result may e obtained in various ways such as is adding a weight to the mass takin weig t away from the mass, or shlfting t e position of, a Weight carried by the mass, the'essential thing being that the radius of gyration be increased.

Preferably, I carryout my invention by adding a suitable weight to the mass when is a simple and easy vide a it is desired test the overnor, the weight of course being addef at a point whlch will increase the radius of gyration, as this way to accomplish the desired result an possesses certain advantages which are pointed out hereinafter. Fora consideration of What I believe to be novel and my invention, attention is directed to the accompanying description and the claims appended thereto. In the drawing, Fig. 1 is a tra'nsversesectional view of an emergency governor-embodying my invention, and Fig. 2 is a side elevation. v

Referring to the drawing 5 indicates a revolving shaft such as the shaft of an elastic fluid turbine. In the shaft is a transversely extending opening 6 counterbored for the greater portion of its length to pros oulder 7 and located in opening 6 1s a plunger 8 which forms the moving mass of the governor. Plunger 8 extends entirely through opening 6 and is provided at one end with a head 9 and a reducedportion 10 which slides in a bushing 11. Bushing 11 fits the small end of opening 6 and has a flange 12 which lies against shoulder 7. The other end of plunger 8, i. e., the end provided with head 9, is guided by a bushing 13 held between two annular coll'ars 14 and 15 which are -mounted on shaft 5 andfastened to ether by bolts 16. The collars are provide with semi-circular recesses to receive bushing 13, the latter having an annular groove 17 into which project tongues 18 on the collars whereb the bushing is ,held in fixed position. ushing 13 1s rovided with a tubular extension 19 whic projects into opening 6 and is threaded on its outer surface to receive a nut 20. The end of plunger 8 remote from head 9 is threaded at 21 to receive a nut 22 and between nuts and 22 is a spring 23 which serves to hold plunger 8 in opening 6. Nut 22 is fixed to by a pin 24, but nut 20 is adjusta le a 011g. extension 19 so that the tension of spring 23 can be adjusted. The spring may be ad- 'usted by turning bushing 13, nut 20 being eld from turning by a pin 25 which is car-. ried by the nut and slides along a groove 26 in the wall of openin 6. Ad acent head 9 is a tri finger 27 which when moved from lun er8' at the other end with emergency nism (not shown). Spring 23 is setso that at normal speeds plunger 8 will be held from movement but in case of abnormal speeds for example, a speed 5% or 10% a ove normal, plunger 8 will be thrown out by centrifugal force against the action of spring 23, strike trip finger 27 and effect the closing of the emergency valve mechanism.

The center of the shaft, i. e., the axis of rotation, is indicated at A and the center of gravity of plunger 8 lies above A in the position of the parts shown in Fig. 1. Now,

according to my invention, I provide means whereby the center of gravity of plunger 8 may at will be moved further from the axis of rotation and to this end I may either suntract weight from the lower end of plunger 8 or add weight tothe upper end. Preferably I do the latterand to this end the head 9 of plunger 8 is threaded to receive a testing weight 29 of such mass that it. will cause Ellunger 8 to move outward and strike trip ger 27 at a shaft speed equal to or any desired amount below normal, It will thus be seen that I can at any time test the emergency governor without the necessity of overspeeding the prime mover. The end of head 9 projects suificiently far beyond the outer surface of bushing 13 to permit of the weight being readily screwed into place so that to test the governor it is only necessary to screw weight 29 into position and then brin the prime mover up to the required s cc Emergency governors are carefully set to trip at a desired speed and it will be seen that by my invention the setting is not disturbed-or modified in any way. My invention also makes testing of the emergency governor an easy matter and a thing readily performed by the ordinary engineer. Furthermore, by having testing weight 29 suitably calibrated, i. e., having it of a predetermined weight, the setting of the emergency governor can be varied by noting the speed. at which the governor trips with the testing weight thereon.

It will be understood of course, that the testing weight is removed from plunger head 9 during normal operation. It is only placed thereon when it is desired to test the overnor mechanism.

In accor ance with the provisions of the patent statutes, I have described the princi le of operation of my invention, together with the apparatus which I now consider to represent the best embodiment thereof, but it desire to have it understood that the apparatus shown is only illustrative and that the invention may be carried out by other means. I

What It claim as new and desire to pure by Patent of the United 1a:-

1. The combination with a mtating ehat't is set by said first named means when it is desired to test the governor.

2. The combination with a rotating shaftand an emergency governor carried there by and comp-rising a mass having its center of gravity to one side of the axis of rotation of the shaft, of means carried by the shaft and operatively engaging with the mass for setting the governor to trip at a speed a predetermined amount higher than normal speed, and means independent of the first named means and operating Without affecting the setting of said first named means for effecting movement of the mass at a speed lower than that for which the governor is set by said first named means when it is desired to test the governor.

3. The combination with a rotating shaft, of an emergency governor carried thereby comprising a movable mass having its center of gravity to one side of the axis of rotation of the shaft, a spring carried by the shaft which yield-ingly holds said mass to a limited movement, means for adjusting said spring to permit the mass to move to a. degree required to trip the governor at a speed a. predetermined amount above normal, and means independent of said sprin adjusting means for effecting movement 0 the mass at a speed lower than that at which it is adjusted to move by said first named adjusting means when it is desired to test the governor.

+2. The combination with a rotatin shaft and an emergency governor carried thereby and comprising a mass having its center of gravity to one side of the axis of rotation of the shaft, and spring means carried by the shaft and restraining n'iovemcnt of the mass, of means for adjusting said sprin means to set the governor to trip at a speed a predetermined amount higher than normal speed, and means independent of said adusting means for effecting movement of said mass at a speed lower than that for which the governor is set by said first named adjusting means, said independent means operating without destroying the setting of said adjusting means.

5. The combination with a rotatin and an emerg ncy gore. or rarried t erehy and comprising a mass having its c nter of gravity to one side ot the 0. oi the shaft, and spring means restrain.- ing movement of the mass. of means tor adjusting said spring means to mt the govshaft meansbeing "adapted to act maaeee ernor to trip at a speed a predeterminedamountabove normal speed, and a weight adapted to be added to the mass to increase the distance between the axisof rotation of the shaft and the center of gravity of the mass whereby thegovernor is caused to act at a lower speed, n

6. The combination with a shaft, of an emergency governor comprising means orming an opening which extends transing having its center of gravity to one side of the axis of rotation of the shaft, a spring which restrains said plunger from movement, means for adjusting said spring to set the governor to trip at a speed a predeten mined amount i her than normal weed, and meansfor e 'ecting operation of said governor at a. speed lower than that for which it isset by said spring and without afi'ecting the setting of said spring.

7. The combination with a shaft, of means forming an opening which extends transvers'ely of the shaft,a plunger in said opening having its center of gravity to one side of the axis of rotation of the shaft, a sprin carried by the shaft and which restrains sai plunger from movement, means for adjust- *saidspring tocause the plunger to move responsive to a speed a predetermined amount above normal speed, and a second and independentlyacting means for causing said, plunger to more at a speed below that'for which it isset to move by said first named adj listing means, said last named temporarily when it is desired to test the overnor and operating Without destroying t e setting-of said adjusting means.

8. The combination with a shaft, of means forming an opening which extends trans- .versely of the shaft, a. plunger in said opening having its center of-gravity to one side the trip element, adgustable means cooperating with the weighted eleof the axis of rotationyof theshaft, said plunger having a. head'with athre'aded portion, a spring which restrains said plunger from movement, and a weight adapted'to be screwed onto said headf 3 1 9, The combination with" a shaft, of an emergency governor comprising means forming, an. opening which extends transversely of the shaft, a plunger in said opening having its center of gravity to one side of the, axis-of rotation of the shaft, a spring which restrains said plunger from movement means for adjusting said springto set the governor to trip at aspeed a predetermined amount higher than normal speed, and means including a weight adapted to be fastened to and removed from said plunger for varying the radius of gyration of said plunger whereby the governor may be ad justed for testing purposes.

10; An emergency governor for a rotating shaft comprising a trip element arranged in close relation to the shaft, an eccentricall wei hted element carried by the shaft and capahle of moving out to engage spring ment and by which the governor may be set to render the engagement of said Weighted element with the trip element responsive to a speed a predetermined amount above normal speed, and means independent of said spring means for causing the weighted element to move out to enga e the trip element at a speed below the spee at which the governor is set to trip by said first-named means, said last-named means operating without affecting the adjustment of the spring means and being brought into operation when it is desired to test the emergencyv governor.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this 28th day of September, 1921.

EDGAR D. DICKINSON. 

